The current phase of the FCE LTER program is organized into four working groups and four
cross-cutting themes. Each working group or cross-cutting theme focuses on a set of key research
questions and/or major processes being quantified by the LTER program.

Hydrologic, ecological and social modeling synthesizes and integrates the data gathered by each of the FCE Working Groups to predict the effects of human-controlled water flow (volume, timing, and spatial distribution) on ecosystem attributes, such as water flows, nutrient availability, primary productivity and soil dynamics. There are a number of models that we use to aid in this analysis, ranging from conceptual models of linkages among socio-ecological properties (e.g. Comprehensive Heuristic Model (CHM)), to numerical simulation models that provide mechanistic extrapolations of our understanding of complex system dynamics across the region over multiple decades (e.g. ELM). Fundamentally, the models are important tools we use to further explore the central hypotheses of FCE III.

How do these factors affect people in south Florida?

Social and economic activities in south Florida can be profoundly impacted by freshwater availability, flooding, sea level rise, and climatic disturbances such as hurricanes. Water management decisions are influenced by the hydrologic needs of the Everglades and the water demands associated with consumptive use, flood control, and economic development. These four elements can conflict with one another, creating spatial and temporal "trade-offs" that often appease one component of the landscape at the expense of another. The FCE models and synthesis approaches are designed to incorporate synergistic feedbacks and indirect effects that are not obvious or are poorly understood to better quantify the impacts associated with these trade-offs, and in the long-term, prevent management decisions that have irrevocable consequences on the ecosystem services provided by the Greater Everglades.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science
Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under
Cooperative Agreements
#DEB-1237517,
#DBI-0620409, and
#DEB-9910514.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or
recommendations expressed in the material are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National
Science Foundation.
Please address questions or comments about this website to:
fcelter@fiu.edu.